Yesterday morning, my buddy / triathlon mentor Patrick and my pastor at church Chris teamed up on me and convinced me to meet them in the morning for a swim in the Ohio River. Patrick has been telling me for a while that it was time for me to give it a try. Chris on the other hand, I suspect, has always thought that my baptism way back when didn't quite take and in my case may require another several good dunks to be effective.
In any case, they met me at the Ohio River behind Tumbleweed at 8 AM. It was a good time to try it out because one of the local triathlon clubs had organized a training for the swim and the bike for the upcoming Louisville Ironman Triathlon. They had some volunteers in kayaks for safety and there were several dozen swimmers, so you weren't alone in the river.
If you have been following for a while, you know that I have been working on the swim now for almost 3 months. I have swum a mile continuously, although in a pool, on several occasions now. So, I thought that I was prepared for this. While I was a little nervous, I did not hesitate to jump in and start swimming. But it was quite different than I had expected.
The water temperature was fine; actually I would guess that it was pretty close to 82 degrees which is the temperature of the pool I have spent most of my time in. The water being river water and is brown and you cannot see through it. I was always close to shore or a dock but I also knew I could not stand up if I wanted to. Also, for the initial part of the swim, I was fighting a current.
None of these things bothered me too much at first. I just started swimming until, I accidently ran into someone swimming ahead of me. I had to stop and then I realized that I really had not been paying attention to where I was going so I tried to adjust my stroke. The result was that I never felt like I could get anywhere. I would swim a few strokes and then stop to see where I was and what was going on and this was taxing me more than I expected. This feeling was enhanced by some of the small debris in the river that I was running into.
As I look back at it, I realize that I was never in any kind of distress or danger. I was always near the shore. There were people all around me including people in kayaks to help if needed. I was never too fatigued to continue. I just lost my confidence and it took me a while to overcome that. To calm myself, I switched to all breast stroke and quit worrying about how fast I was going. I kept an eye on where I was going at all times. But I kept that uneasy feeling for the rest of the swim. When we turned around, I had the current on my side and I made it back to the starting point in no time.
This is just one of those things I am going to have to get used to. I will also need to consider whether I need a better plan for when I am in open water.
I decided not to try to bike with the groups following the swim. I wasn't sure I was prepared for it. I later discovered that they had set up several sag stops for the bikes. Had I known that, I probably would have tried it. Sixty miles would have been a stretch for me but if there were stops for some food, water and repairs if needed, I think I could have made it.
I did go biking later in the day. I went to Seneca and Cherokee Parks around 5:30 and biked for about an hour for about 15.3 miles.
Since this was more or less a day dedicated to learning about triathlons, I also ventured into a triathlon store to ask one of the questions that has been bothering me ever since I started working on this: "What do you wear?" That may seem like a silly question BUT remember first you swim, then bike, then run. You can't wear padded bike shorts to swim in, because the padding will get wet and you will be sitting in a puddle for the entire bike. A swim suit on the other hand doesn't necessarily seem like the best choice for a bike or a run.
Turns out the answer is that there is no definitive answer. It depends. I am told some people simply buy a speedo and do the entire thing in a speedo. There are some "tri" shorts, which are designed to accomplish everything. They are supposed to work fairly well, although I am told that for the longer races, some guys just like to change for the particular sport or pull on additional bike shorts for additional padding. You just have to see what works well for you and for a particular race. I decided to buy some "tri" shorts and a "tri" top to try them out. My current plan is to use the shorts for the race this Saturday and maybe bike and run bare chested.
Six days and counting! Got a swim in this morning of 1800m. Hoping to add a bike and either a trip to the gym or a run to that this afternoon as well. We'll see how it goes.
Have a great day!
David (lazy swimmer)
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Where does the time go?
I just checked the blog thinking that I hadn't posted the last day or so and was amazed to find that I had not posted since Sunday! Where does the time go???
Well, let me see what has happened this week?
Monday -
Monday I swam 1600m early before work but changed up the warm-up a little, by adding 300m with pull buoys to my warm up. So the warm-up was 800m and then I did 4 sessions of 200m. Monday afternoon, I decided to work out inside and did 45 minutes on the stairmaster at the gym.
Tuesday -
Tuesday morning plans were to bike before work but I chickened out when I got up to find it was still dark. It was actually light enough for me to see but I was very concerned that cars could not see me. I aborted the bike BUT I went to buy lights for the bike later in the day. In the evening I went to Tom Sawyer Park again with Andrew to swim. Things were going along until there was thunder and lightning and the guards cleared the pool. I'm still glad I went there because I need to get used to the pool but the total swim ended up only being 700m.
Wednesday -
Up early. Lights installed on the bike. Tires inflated. Went for a 14 mile bike before work. Went better than expected. Now I feel like I can manage some biking before work, at least until it gets too dark or too cold in the Fall and Winter. Evening workout was Yoga, which I feel like I really need right now. Been feeling really stiff.
Thursday -
For some reason just exhausted in the morning and didn't make it for an early swim. Instead I did a shorter swim at lunch time. Swam 1000m. Limited the warm-up to 100m breast, then 800m free style and finished with another 100m breast as a cool down. Now that I have worked on my endurance and know that I can swim a mile continuously if I need to, I think I can start incorporating some shorter swims into the regimen. That ought to allow me some room to work on endurance for the bike and run again. In the afternoon, I had weights again with Cody, which went really well. I was telling Cody that the swimming seems to have really increased my upper body strength. Unfortunately, later in the evening, I twisted or bent a little funny and had my lower back act up.
Friday -
Today is a rest day, which was perfect considering my back was acting up. I called Cody Eubank for an MAT session to see if he could figure out what was going on with my back and he got me all straightened out. That was fortuitous because my buddy and triathlon mentro Patrick started facebooking me to swim in the Ohio in the morning and possibly bike with him. Only problem is the bike that they are planning is 60 miles. I might be able to gut it out but that is quite a bit further than I have gone so far this year.
The triathlon is one week from tomorrow and I have a lot to accomplish next week to be ready.
That's about all for now! Have a great evening!
David (lazy swimmer)
Well, let me see what has happened this week?
Monday -
Monday I swam 1600m early before work but changed up the warm-up a little, by adding 300m with pull buoys to my warm up. So the warm-up was 800m and then I did 4 sessions of 200m. Monday afternoon, I decided to work out inside and did 45 minutes on the stairmaster at the gym.
Tuesday -
Tuesday morning plans were to bike before work but I chickened out when I got up to find it was still dark. It was actually light enough for me to see but I was very concerned that cars could not see me. I aborted the bike BUT I went to buy lights for the bike later in the day. In the evening I went to Tom Sawyer Park again with Andrew to swim. Things were going along until there was thunder and lightning and the guards cleared the pool. I'm still glad I went there because I need to get used to the pool but the total swim ended up only being 700m.
Wednesday -
Up early. Lights installed on the bike. Tires inflated. Went for a 14 mile bike before work. Went better than expected. Now I feel like I can manage some biking before work, at least until it gets too dark or too cold in the Fall and Winter. Evening workout was Yoga, which I feel like I really need right now. Been feeling really stiff.
Thursday -
For some reason just exhausted in the morning and didn't make it for an early swim. Instead I did a shorter swim at lunch time. Swam 1000m. Limited the warm-up to 100m breast, then 800m free style and finished with another 100m breast as a cool down. Now that I have worked on my endurance and know that I can swim a mile continuously if I need to, I think I can start incorporating some shorter swims into the regimen. That ought to allow me some room to work on endurance for the bike and run again. In the afternoon, I had weights again with Cody, which went really well. I was telling Cody that the swimming seems to have really increased my upper body strength. Unfortunately, later in the evening, I twisted or bent a little funny and had my lower back act up.
Friday -
Today is a rest day, which was perfect considering my back was acting up. I called Cody Eubank for an MAT session to see if he could figure out what was going on with my back and he got me all straightened out. That was fortuitous because my buddy and triathlon mentro Patrick started facebooking me to swim in the Ohio in the morning and possibly bike with him. Only problem is the bike that they are planning is 60 miles. I might be able to gut it out but that is quite a bit further than I have gone so far this year.
The triathlon is one week from tomorrow and I have a lot to accomplish next week to be ready.
That's about all for now! Have a great evening!
David (lazy swimmer)
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Running out of Time
Now less than 2 weeks until the triathlon and here is my assessment. If I can keep doing 3 to 4 swims a week, I ought be able to maintain the swim. For this first triathlon, I think I will be okay for the bke and the run as well.
But here is the thing, today, I got up early and did a swim. Following church and lunch, I made a trip to the gym and waited to do a bike until it was a little cooler. I bike about 15 miles in just a little more than an hour. I know that sounds like a lot but really in all it was only about 3 hours of exercise and not all at once. Three months ago, 5 hours of continous exercise was a lot but really not a game ender.
What I am realizing is that while I feel confident that I will finish, it will be harder than expected. Also, the jump to the next level will take some work. The extreme focus on my swim has cost me endurance in the run and the bike. It will take more work than I originally expected to get all of these up to par at the same time.
So here is the report for the last few days. Friday was my off day and I enjoyed every minute of it. Saturday, I had two workouts planned and had a terrific quick and lazy 3 mile run through Seneca Park. I had planned a bike in the afternoon which was aborted because I wasn't feeling well. In fact, I spent much of the afternoon in bed until about 7 PM.
Luckily I am feeling my better today. I think I am where I am supposed to be but there is definitely a need for a plan to be able to go forward.
Cross your fingers for me. Have a great evening!
Side Note: One of my buddy's sons did the Lake Placid Iron Man today. Very Very Cool!
David
But here is the thing, today, I got up early and did a swim. Following church and lunch, I made a trip to the gym and waited to do a bike until it was a little cooler. I bike about 15 miles in just a little more than an hour. I know that sounds like a lot but really in all it was only about 3 hours of exercise and not all at once. Three months ago, 5 hours of continous exercise was a lot but really not a game ender.
What I am realizing is that while I feel confident that I will finish, it will be harder than expected. Also, the jump to the next level will take some work. The extreme focus on my swim has cost me endurance in the run and the bike. It will take more work than I originally expected to get all of these up to par at the same time.
So here is the report for the last few days. Friday was my off day and I enjoyed every minute of it. Saturday, I had two workouts planned and had a terrific quick and lazy 3 mile run through Seneca Park. I had planned a bike in the afternoon which was aborted because I wasn't feeling well. In fact, I spent much of the afternoon in bed until about 7 PM.
Luckily I am feeling my better today. I think I am where I am supposed to be but there is definitely a need for a plan to be able to go forward.
Cross your fingers for me. Have a great evening!
Side Note: One of my buddy's sons did the Lake Placid Iron Man today. Very Very Cool!
David
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes
Things are changing. Although I am exercising quite a bit more, I have also gained weight, about 8 pounds, in fact. I think it is the swimming. My chest seems to be bigger, my waist seems to be smaller although I do not look nearly as lean as when I was running all the time for marathon training. It feels a little strange.
The triathlon is 2 weeks from Saturday, so time is getting close. I am waiting to hear, but I may do my first open water swim in the Ohio this Saturday with my buddy / mentor Patrick.
Today was a very busy day at work. Luckily I only planned weight training with Cody. Today, we did dead lifts, Romanian dead lifts, lat pull downs, dips, bar bell bench press, and leg press. I may have forgotten some. I just know I was really tired when I was done and very sweaty.
Yesterday, was a 2 work out day. At lunch, I did a 1700m workout that included kick boarding and pull buoys. It took less than an hour which was awesome. I have no illusions of winning anything but it is really gratifying to see that I am getting faster.
My second workout was Yoga. My buddy Andrew and his buddy John joined me for the first time. They actually both did really well. They are definitely much more flexible than me but of course I am 30 years older than them. I'm still much more flexible than I was when I started.
Still a lot to figure out in the next 2 weeks.
That's about it for the day. Have a great evening!
David
The triathlon is 2 weeks from Saturday, so time is getting close. I am waiting to hear, but I may do my first open water swim in the Ohio this Saturday with my buddy / mentor Patrick.
Today was a very busy day at work. Luckily I only planned weight training with Cody. Today, we did dead lifts, Romanian dead lifts, lat pull downs, dips, bar bell bench press, and leg press. I may have forgotten some. I just know I was really tired when I was done and very sweaty.
Yesterday, was a 2 work out day. At lunch, I did a 1700m workout that included kick boarding and pull buoys. It took less than an hour which was awesome. I have no illusions of winning anything but it is really gratifying to see that I am getting faster.
My second workout was Yoga. My buddy Andrew and his buddy John joined me for the first time. They actually both did really well. They are definitely much more flexible than me but of course I am 30 years older than them. I'm still much more flexible than I was when I started.
Still a lot to figure out in the next 2 weeks.
That's about it for the day. Have a great evening!
David
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Catching up Again
Good news this afternoon. I had another breakthrough day in the swim! I skipped the warm-up and did a continuous swim of 1600m (1 mile.) That is the longest continuous swim to date. I would like to claim that it was all free style, but the shallow end of the pool there is too shallow for me to do free style, so I had to swim breast for part of every length of the pool. Still, it was great to be able to complete a mile swim.
Now things were just a little chaotic getting started. My buddy Andrew and his buddy John went to Tom Sawyer pool with me, which was nice. It's a little more fun when you have some company. When we got there, the swim team had half the pool and some sort of water aerobics class was going on. It turned out that on Tuesdays, the lap swim doesnt start until 7:15. Of course, some of the kids apparently did not get the memo and one young man in particular kept jumping into the lap lanes to splash around AFTER the half of the pool was opened for lane swim. Unfortunately, I also forgot my goggles tonight and right now my eyes are scarlet red, dry and itchy. But the biggest hassle was some elderly lady for whatever reason, decided that she liked my lane to swim in. Now I do not mind sharing lanes with people when necessary but there were several other lanes available, she just wanted my lane. Several times I had to swim around her when she nearly swam right into me because she wasnt looking and she was in MY lane. Still, I made my mile swim, so all in all, I would classify the night as a win.
Yesterday I was playing catch up all day long. I overslept and really did not have time to work out so I did an abbreviated swim in the morning. I skipped the warm-up completely and only did a total of 1100m consisting of 100m breast, 50 breast, 100 free, 150 breast, 200 free, 200 free, 150 breast, 100 free, 50 breast. In the afternoon, what I really needed to do was some sort of a run. But it was Luau day at the gym and the movie in the cardio theatre sucked, so I did upper body weights instead.
Tomorrow, Yoga in the evening possible swim in the morning, but the swim is to be determined.
Right now, I am recovering from too large a meal and too much gatorade following my workout. And then it will be time for a good night's sleep.
Have a great evening.
David
Now things were just a little chaotic getting started. My buddy Andrew and his buddy John went to Tom Sawyer pool with me, which was nice. It's a little more fun when you have some company. When we got there, the swim team had half the pool and some sort of water aerobics class was going on. It turned out that on Tuesdays, the lap swim doesnt start until 7:15. Of course, some of the kids apparently did not get the memo and one young man in particular kept jumping into the lap lanes to splash around AFTER the half of the pool was opened for lane swim. Unfortunately, I also forgot my goggles tonight and right now my eyes are scarlet red, dry and itchy. But the biggest hassle was some elderly lady for whatever reason, decided that she liked my lane to swim in. Now I do not mind sharing lanes with people when necessary but there were several other lanes available, she just wanted my lane. Several times I had to swim around her when she nearly swam right into me because she wasnt looking and she was in MY lane. Still, I made my mile swim, so all in all, I would classify the night as a win.
Yesterday I was playing catch up all day long. I overslept and really did not have time to work out so I did an abbreviated swim in the morning. I skipped the warm-up completely and only did a total of 1100m consisting of 100m breast, 50 breast, 100 free, 150 breast, 200 free, 200 free, 150 breast, 100 free, 50 breast. In the afternoon, what I really needed to do was some sort of a run. But it was Luau day at the gym and the movie in the cardio theatre sucked, so I did upper body weights instead.
Tomorrow, Yoga in the evening possible swim in the morning, but the swim is to be determined.
Right now, I am recovering from too large a meal and too much gatorade following my workout. And then it will be time for a good night's sleep.
Have a great evening.
David
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Weekend Fun
I got to spend some time catching up with my mentor Patrick this afternoon. Patrick has done several marathons and several triathlons, including the full Louisville Iron Man last year. When you look at Patrick, you would notice that he is fit but you probably would not think that he is ripped. But let me tell you, I sure can't keep up with him. He really is amazing and he also is really a great friend and a great motivator. He is full of fun and encouragement. Anyway, he spent quite a bit of time with me this afternoon and was answering some of my questions. Based on this, it looks as though I may be about to venture into some open water swimming, which makes me a little nervous.
This weekend was a great weekend too. I have to admit, I really was not enthused about getting up to run yesterday morning, especially because I couldn't find any buddies willing to run with me. I hesitated getting out of the car but I ran 4 miles in Seneca Park and like it often goes, I felt great when it was over and was really glad I had done it.
THEN, it was time to take my buddy Andrew to the pool to swim with me. Andrew wants to do the triathlon with me and we are three weeks away as of yesterday. This was Andrew's first time in the pool. I have to call him here when I am done because I have not heard or seen him today and I need to make sure I didn't kill him. It was a hard day for Andrew but he got through it. Luckily, Andrew is in his early 20s, so while it would probably be impossible for someone at my age to be ready to take this on in 3 weeks, Andrew has a pretty good chance. In the pool I did a 450m warm up and then a 300m pyramid and a 50m cool down. Total distance was 1700m.
Normally, that would be all she wrote for the day. Two workouts in one day is normally my limit but Andrew wanted some payback, so he made me go to the gym with him later in the afternoon to lift weights. I'm not really good at resisting peer pressure, so I went and actually it went better than expected. In many ways, it was great because it made today so much easier.
On Sundays, I often try to get in 2 workouts, usually a run or a bike and a trip to the gym. But because I went to the gym yesterday, today I limited my schedule to a single bike ride of about 19 miles. It looked a little like it might rain and I nearly aborted. But as it turned out, it never did rain and I reminded myself that you have to take the workouts when you can get them.
Either before I go to bed or first thing in the morning, I need to plan my week. This coming week is sizing up to be a very busy week and I need to get a plan for work and for my training if I am going to be able to make everything work.
Have a great evening!
David
This weekend was a great weekend too. I have to admit, I really was not enthused about getting up to run yesterday morning, especially because I couldn't find any buddies willing to run with me. I hesitated getting out of the car but I ran 4 miles in Seneca Park and like it often goes, I felt great when it was over and was really glad I had done it.
THEN, it was time to take my buddy Andrew to the pool to swim with me. Andrew wants to do the triathlon with me and we are three weeks away as of yesterday. This was Andrew's first time in the pool. I have to call him here when I am done because I have not heard or seen him today and I need to make sure I didn't kill him. It was a hard day for Andrew but he got through it. Luckily, Andrew is in his early 20s, so while it would probably be impossible for someone at my age to be ready to take this on in 3 weeks, Andrew has a pretty good chance. In the pool I did a 450m warm up and then a 300m pyramid and a 50m cool down. Total distance was 1700m.
Normally, that would be all she wrote for the day. Two workouts in one day is normally my limit but Andrew wanted some payback, so he made me go to the gym with him later in the afternoon to lift weights. I'm not really good at resisting peer pressure, so I went and actually it went better than expected. In many ways, it was great because it made today so much easier.
On Sundays, I often try to get in 2 workouts, usually a run or a bike and a trip to the gym. But because I went to the gym yesterday, today I limited my schedule to a single bike ride of about 19 miles. It looked a little like it might rain and I nearly aborted. But as it turned out, it never did rain and I reminded myself that you have to take the workouts when you can get them.
Either before I go to bed or first thing in the morning, I need to plan my week. This coming week is sizing up to be a very busy week and I need to get a plan for work and for my training if I am going to be able to make everything work.
Have a great evening!
David
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Importance of Rest
Always learning - I was pleased to learn in my Triathlon's Training Manual, that rest and sleep were very important parts of a training regimen. SO, this morning I decided added a little extra sleep to the ole training regimen instead of a morning swim.
The timing seemed to be good. For no apparent reason, I was just tired today. I still did my afternoon weights with Cody which actually made me feel great. Tomorrow I have another rest day scheduled.
Now that I have developed the endurance for the swim, I need to juggle the workout. So, now we have a project to work on.
Looking forward to tomorrow.
Have a great evening!
David
The timing seemed to be good. For no apparent reason, I was just tired today. I still did my afternoon weights with Cody which actually made me feel great. Tomorrow I have another rest day scheduled.
Now that I have developed the endurance for the swim, I need to juggle the workout. So, now we have a project to work on.
Looking forward to tomorrow.
Have a great evening!
David
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Catching Up
Missed my blogging yesterday afternoon. Normally on Tuesday, I try to get in 2 workouts. Usually a swim and then a short bike. Yesterday, I did the 2050m swim I had planned for Monday but my heart wasn't in it for another workout. (My mean swim coach has been cutting me some slack because of the situation with Rocky Dog.)
Today, I did my swim early and elected to do a 1600m swim consisting of 100m breast, 300m kick board, 100m breast, 1000m freestyle, and 100m breast. Today perhaps for the first time, it was obvious to me that I am getting faster. I finished the entire mile workout in less than an hour.
Then tonight, I got to go back to Yoga for the first time in a month. Three weeks ago, my instructor (the one who refers to me as that chubby guy from Yoga) was on vacation . Two weeks ago, Rocky Dog was sick and I stayed home with him. Last week was the July 4th holiday.
I've taken a fair amount of heat from my buddies for doing Yoga. I will tell you though that Yoga has been really good for me and I would recommend it. I believe it is improving my flexibility and strength in ways weight training can't.
Almost to the 3 week mark for the Tom Sawyer triathlon and it looks like I am going to be okay for the swim. Right now I am okay with all of the distances individually for the swim, bike and run. I just need to be sure I can do them all at once.
Cross your fingers for me! Have a great evening.
David
Today, I did my swim early and elected to do a 1600m swim consisting of 100m breast, 300m kick board, 100m breast, 1000m freestyle, and 100m breast. Today perhaps for the first time, it was obvious to me that I am getting faster. I finished the entire mile workout in less than an hour.
Then tonight, I got to go back to Yoga for the first time in a month. Three weeks ago, my instructor (the one who refers to me as that chubby guy from Yoga) was on vacation . Two weeks ago, Rocky Dog was sick and I stayed home with him. Last week was the July 4th holiday.
I've taken a fair amount of heat from my buddies for doing Yoga. I will tell you though that Yoga has been really good for me and I would recommend it. I believe it is improving my flexibility and strength in ways weight training can't.
Almost to the 3 week mark for the Tom Sawyer triathlon and it looks like I am going to be okay for the swim. Right now I am okay with all of the distances individually for the swim, bike and run. I just need to be sure I can do them all at once.
Cross your fingers for me! Have a great evening.
David
Monday, July 9, 2012
Making Room for Life
I certainly can't claim that I it would be a good idea to do a triathlon without training. Having a training schedule, at least for me, is essential to be able to show up ready. The other side of the coin is that training should not be your entire life. Still it is hard to balance.
With that in mind, I ended up with a second free day this week yesterday. Some of my very best friends' daughter was married yesterday. So I went to her wedding and took the entire day off for training.
Then today, my training again had to be adjusted. My sweet, sweet puppy Rocky was very sick and ultimately died this afternoon. We had him since he was a little puppy and unfortunately he died probably of leukemia at 7 1/2. My original plan was a 2050m swim and a trip to the gym for some weights. But I stayed with my dog until he passed away.
After Rocky died I went to swim some laps. It was good therapy for me. It was also very instructional. For the first time, I went to the pool where I will be swimming in the triathlon. I would highly recommend this if at all possible before races. I have been working my tail off working on my freestyle for the 800m swim. Tonight I discovered that the pool is only 3 feet deep in the shallow end and my arms are simply too long to do freestyle there. So I will have to do some breast stroke. All said and done, I did 1600m with one continuous stretch of 800m of freestyle (with breast stroke in the shallow end).
So, life happens. BTW - Rocky Dog was a good dog. He was a wonderful companion and I will miss him terribly. When I came home tonight to an empty house, I realized how much I took him for granted when he greeted me at the door every day. God Speed, Rocky. I love you and you were a good dog! Thank you for taking such good care of me for so many years.
Take care all.
David
With that in mind, I ended up with a second free day this week yesterday. Some of my very best friends' daughter was married yesterday. So I went to her wedding and took the entire day off for training.
Then today, my training again had to be adjusted. My sweet, sweet puppy Rocky was very sick and ultimately died this afternoon. We had him since he was a little puppy and unfortunately he died probably of leukemia at 7 1/2. My original plan was a 2050m swim and a trip to the gym for some weights. But I stayed with my dog until he passed away.
After Rocky died I went to swim some laps. It was good therapy for me. It was also very instructional. For the first time, I went to the pool where I will be swimming in the triathlon. I would highly recommend this if at all possible before races. I have been working my tail off working on my freestyle for the 800m swim. Tonight I discovered that the pool is only 3 feet deep in the shallow end and my arms are simply too long to do freestyle there. So I will have to do some breast stroke. All said and done, I did 1600m with one continuous stretch of 800m of freestyle (with breast stroke in the shallow end).
So, life happens. BTW - Rocky Dog was a good dog. He was a wonderful companion and I will miss him terribly. When I came home tonight to an empty house, I realized how much I took him for granted when he greeted me at the door every day. God Speed, Rocky. I love you and you were a good dog! Thank you for taking such good care of me for so many years.
Take care all.
David
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Plan B kind of Day
Planned workouts for the day - 3 mile run and about 2050m swim. BUT today was a plan B kind of day.
I got a late start and missed my running group but I ran any way for 4.5 miles in Seneca / Cherokee parks. I ran the hills and luckily thanks to Patrick Ryan, I was running by 7:15 and it was only 80 degrees. Actually it was a very nice run. When the temperatures hit 106, I was very grateful that I had gotten out early.
I was trying to get both workouts out early in the day and turned right around to go to the pool. Unfortunately, due to the heat, the swim team had taken over the indoor pool for the day and there was no lap swimming. So the swim is out until at least Monday. Plan B again was to go for a bike.
Came home to change and load up the bike and went back to Seneca / Cherokee parks for a ride. By this time, the temps had gone up to 92. Although it was hot, it is just a lot easier on a bike than running. I finished the bike after 22.6 miles. By the time I finished it was 98 degrees.
So, bottom line is I got in two workouts as planned but now I need to refigure workouts for the next week or so.
Normally on Sundays, I make it to the gym and maybe a bike. But tomorrow, I have a wedding in the afternoon. So I may end up with 2 off days this week.
In the mean time, I am working on a plan to get out of this cycle of simply winging it AND I am also working on building a group of friends to train with. I'm getting my workouts in but it is just a lot more fun to train with other people.
So another day and the EP Tom Sawyer triathlon is 4 weeks from today.
Have a good day!
David
I got a late start and missed my running group but I ran any way for 4.5 miles in Seneca / Cherokee parks. I ran the hills and luckily thanks to Patrick Ryan, I was running by 7:15 and it was only 80 degrees. Actually it was a very nice run. When the temperatures hit 106, I was very grateful that I had gotten out early.
I was trying to get both workouts out early in the day and turned right around to go to the pool. Unfortunately, due to the heat, the swim team had taken over the indoor pool for the day and there was no lap swimming. So the swim is out until at least Monday. Plan B again was to go for a bike.
Came home to change and load up the bike and went back to Seneca / Cherokee parks for a ride. By this time, the temps had gone up to 92. Although it was hot, it is just a lot easier on a bike than running. I finished the bike after 22.6 miles. By the time I finished it was 98 degrees.
So, bottom line is I got in two workouts as planned but now I need to refigure workouts for the next week or so.
Normally on Sundays, I make it to the gym and maybe a bike. But tomorrow, I have a wedding in the afternoon. So I may end up with 2 off days this week.
In the mean time, I am working on a plan to get out of this cycle of simply winging it AND I am also working on building a group of friends to train with. I'm getting my workouts in but it is just a lot more fun to train with other people.
So another day and the EP Tom Sawyer triathlon is 4 weeks from today.
Have a good day!
David
Friday, July 6, 2012
Weight training
As I have settled into this routine, Friday has become my normal weekly rest day. So today, I had ice cream. Actually as I think about it, I had ice cream three times today. A small blizzard in the afternoon (because it was so hot and I have the 90 degree Blizzard rule), a skinny cow after dinner (because I forgot about the blizzard earlier) and a little ice cream for a snack while watching TV (probably because I got a little bored). Normally, I couldn't get away with this.
Thursday was training day with Cody Eubank. It was also a weights only day. With the fatigue for the week accumulating every day from the swim, I decided that it should be a no swim day. My next swim is to be Saturday. I am waiting to hear from my Mean Swim Coach what the program will be but I am expecting it to be a long swim again.
There is never a dull moment with Cody and Cody hates to disappoint me. Accordingly, he loves to put in all of my favorite exercises. Probably my all time favorite is step up / lunges. After all, nothing makes you feel alive like feeling like you are going to die. You can imagine how thrilled I was to hear that Cody was going to let me experience this one more time. I also got to do what Cody likes to call Australian pushups, cleans, something like cleans but more for the shoulders, inclined bench press, another chest press machine, pull ups, and some others I can't recall right now.
Soooo, looking all of this over makes me realize that I really need to get busy and plan my workouts. I can certainly tell when I am simply winging it both in training and in the diet. I can get away with this every now and then BUT not indefinitely.
I have now passed the 1 month out mark. The actual triathlon will be 4 weeks from tomorrow.
That's all for now! Have a great evening and if you happen to hear from my Mean Swim Coach, tell her I am still waiting for my schedule for tomorrow and next week.
David
Thursday was training day with Cody Eubank. It was also a weights only day. With the fatigue for the week accumulating every day from the swim, I decided that it should be a no swim day. My next swim is to be Saturday. I am waiting to hear from my Mean Swim Coach what the program will be but I am expecting it to be a long swim again.
There is never a dull moment with Cody and Cody hates to disappoint me. Accordingly, he loves to put in all of my favorite exercises. Probably my all time favorite is step up / lunges. After all, nothing makes you feel alive like feeling like you are going to die. You can imagine how thrilled I was to hear that Cody was going to let me experience this one more time. I also got to do what Cody likes to call Australian pushups, cleans, something like cleans but more for the shoulders, inclined bench press, another chest press machine, pull ups, and some others I can't recall right now.
Soooo, looking all of this over makes me realize that I really need to get busy and plan my workouts. I can certainly tell when I am simply winging it both in training and in the diet. I can get away with this every now and then BUT not indefinitely.
I have now passed the 1 month out mark. The actual triathlon will be 4 weeks from tomorrow.
That's all for now! Have a great evening and if you happen to hear from my Mean Swim Coach, tell her I am still waiting for my schedule for tomorrow and next week.
David
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Winging It
I still haven't sat down to plan my training for the week. And it is obvious that I need to plan it for the next several weeks. My Mean Swim Coach let me sleep in a little longer today since I was off work and we went to the pool at 9:00 AM instead of 6:00 AM. Today's workout was a total of 1650m which consisted of my 450m warmup and a pyramid of freestyle to 300m (100m, 200m, 300m, 300m, 200m, 100m).
I still learning about all of this so I can't tell you why but once again today, I felt like I couldn't make it through the 200m and 300m while on Monday I swam 1000m+ continuously with no problem. Best I can tell, there is a fatigue factor that accumulates over the week. Accordingly, I have decided to take Thursday and Friday off from the pool. Next pool workout will be on Saturday.
Once again I had planned to get a bike in today. Temperatures were around 100 degrees again and I really felt like it was too hot. I may still set up my wind trainer or ride my airdyne before the end of the day inside but I may just as likely eat my Chinese food and take it easy.
My Mean Swim Coach is leaving tomorrow, so I will no longer have her in the pool with me to call me lazy. But she promises to e-mail me my weekly workouts and to do virtual chastisement as needed.
If you have questions, comments, suggestions, tips, or stories, I would love to hear them. Also, my Mean Swim Coach tells me that she would be willing to answer questions as well.
Happy 4th of July everyone! Stay safe!
David (aka that Chubby Guy from Yoga, aka Lazy Swimmer)
I still learning about all of this so I can't tell you why but once again today, I felt like I couldn't make it through the 200m and 300m while on Monday I swam 1000m+ continuously with no problem. Best I can tell, there is a fatigue factor that accumulates over the week. Accordingly, I have decided to take Thursday and Friday off from the pool. Next pool workout will be on Saturday.
Once again I had planned to get a bike in today. Temperatures were around 100 degrees again and I really felt like it was too hot. I may still set up my wind trainer or ride my airdyne before the end of the day inside but I may just as likely eat my Chinese food and take it easy.
My Mean Swim Coach is leaving tomorrow, so I will no longer have her in the pool with me to call me lazy. But she promises to e-mail me my weekly workouts and to do virtual chastisement as needed.
If you have questions, comments, suggestions, tips, or stories, I would love to hear them. Also, my Mean Swim Coach tells me that she would be willing to answer questions as well.
Happy 4th of July everyone! Stay safe!
David (aka that Chubby Guy from Yoga, aka Lazy Swimmer)
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Pyramind Scheming
Well, it looks as though the rest of this week will be simply winging the workouts. At least that is how things started off this morning. My Mean Swim Coach (my daughter Virginia), her husband (my reader's son) and I went to swim at the break of dawn. We were in the pool by about 6:20. I had no plan at all. I was simply relying on my Mean Swim Coach to tell me what to do. Likewise, there was no plan for the afternoon. Thinking through a normal week, it seemed like it might be a good day for a bike ride but nothing definite was on the books.
Now maybe it was fatigue from my breakthrough 1000m swim yesterday, or maybe it was the enormous helping of spaghetti and meat sauce last night at Bistro 42 but today's swim seemed much harder than yesterday. The farthest I had to swim continuously today was 400m BUT my Mean Swim Coach introduced me to Pyramids. So today, after my normal 450m warm-up, I swam 100m breast stroke, 200m freestyle, 300m breast again, 400m free, 300m free with a pull buoy (meaning no kicking), 200m freestyle, and finally 100m free with a pull buoy. Total swim was 2050m.
If you have never done pyramids (like me until this morning), pyramids are designed to humble you. When first introducing me to pyramids, my Mean Swim Coach instructed me to swim as follows: 50m followed by 100m, then 150m, then 200m, 250m, 300m, 350m, 400m. Then the same in reverse order. Of course the appropriate thing to have done would have been to simply jump in and start swimming. However being lazy, I decided instead to first do some math and pointed out that the total there is 3600m. Including the 450m I had already swam would total more than 4000m or roughly 2.5 miles. My Mean Swim Coach relented and assigned me the 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m pyramid I mentioned above but she also has now labeled me as her Lazy Swimmer.
As the day wore on, I remembered that tomorrow is a holiday and I would be off all day AND Yoga would be canceled. With that in mind, I decided that I would give myself this afternoon off and work on a swim and a bike ride tomorrow when I have the whole day. After all, I am winging it this week and since no one (other than my reader Dave Leonard) reads this blog, no one will ever know...
Have a great evening.
David (aka Lazy Swimmer, aka That Chubby Guy from Yoga)
Now maybe it was fatigue from my breakthrough 1000m swim yesterday, or maybe it was the enormous helping of spaghetti and meat sauce last night at Bistro 42 but today's swim seemed much harder than yesterday. The farthest I had to swim continuously today was 400m BUT my Mean Swim Coach introduced me to Pyramids. So today, after my normal 450m warm-up, I swam 100m breast stroke, 200m freestyle, 300m breast again, 400m free, 300m free with a pull buoy (meaning no kicking), 200m freestyle, and finally 100m free with a pull buoy. Total swim was 2050m.
If you have never done pyramids (like me until this morning), pyramids are designed to humble you. When first introducing me to pyramids, my Mean Swim Coach instructed me to swim as follows: 50m followed by 100m, then 150m, then 200m, 250m, 300m, 350m, 400m. Then the same in reverse order. Of course the appropriate thing to have done would have been to simply jump in and start swimming. However being lazy, I decided instead to first do some math and pointed out that the total there is 3600m. Including the 450m I had already swam would total more than 4000m or roughly 2.5 miles. My Mean Swim Coach relented and assigned me the 100m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m pyramid I mentioned above but she also has now labeled me as her Lazy Swimmer.
As the day wore on, I remembered that tomorrow is a holiday and I would be off all day AND Yoga would be canceled. With that in mind, I decided that I would give myself this afternoon off and work on a swim and a bike ride tomorrow when I have the whole day. After all, I am winging it this week and since no one (other than my reader Dave Leonard) reads this blog, no one will ever know...
Have a great evening.
David (aka Lazy Swimmer, aka That Chubby Guy from Yoga)
Monday, July 2, 2012
Breaking Through
Today's workouts were actually unplanned. I'm getting bad about that. I knew I needed to do a swim but I had not finalized a plan for this week with my Mean Swim Coach. I also knew I needed an afternoon workout, probably a run or something. But really today I just winged it.
Luckily, my Mean Swim Coach got up at the crack of dawn to swim with me this morning at Blairwood. She made sure that I didn't slack off and in fact, she probably is responsible for today's break through. She had me do my now regular 450m warm-up. Then it was time for a long swim
Now I am going to have to admit that she would have let me off with an 800m freestyle swim. I however decided that it would be too confusing (because I lose count) to do 800m and decided that swimming 1000m would make counting easier. So, I swam 1000m (but maybe 1200m - I don't know. I lost count anyway.) Then another 50m breast. Then 100m with the pull buoy. So, once again I swam about a mile (or maybe a little more - like I said, I lost count)
Recovery today went much better than Saturday. We went immediately to Starbuck and got lattes and a scone and that seemed to help.
The second workout today followed work. It was above 100 degrees again and I decided to do some light cardio inside in the gym. Once again, my Mean Swim Coach and her husband accompanied me to make sure that I didn't slack off. So I chose to go to the cardio theatre even though there was a terrible movie playing. It is cool and dark and no one could see that I was being a slacker. (I'm basically lazy) In essense, I did a recovery run like I used to do every Monday following a long run for my marathon training. After 35 minutes, I finished and went home.
This is where all that training goes to waste or perhaps I should say to waist. Following our workouts, we went to Bistro 42 with Phyllis Jean to eat very large portions of Italian food.
Tomorrow is again unplanned. But right now, I am thinking that we (Mean Swim Coach and I) will go to the pool early once again BUT I do plan to avoid standing on the scale for a few days. And maybe if I don't forget, I will spend some time to get my workouts planned again and get myself back on track.
Let me know if you have any questions, comments, tips, advice or stories. I would love to hear them.
Have a great evening.
David (aka that chubby guy from Yoga)
Luckily, my Mean Swim Coach got up at the crack of dawn to swim with me this morning at Blairwood. She made sure that I didn't slack off and in fact, she probably is responsible for today's break through. She had me do my now regular 450m warm-up. Then it was time for a long swim
Now I am going to have to admit that she would have let me off with an 800m freestyle swim. I however decided that it would be too confusing (because I lose count) to do 800m and decided that swimming 1000m would make counting easier. So, I swam 1000m (but maybe 1200m - I don't know. I lost count anyway.) Then another 50m breast. Then 100m with the pull buoy. So, once again I swam about a mile (or maybe a little more - like I said, I lost count)
Recovery today went much better than Saturday. We went immediately to Starbuck and got lattes and a scone and that seemed to help.
The second workout today followed work. It was above 100 degrees again and I decided to do some light cardio inside in the gym. Once again, my Mean Swim Coach and her husband accompanied me to make sure that I didn't slack off. So I chose to go to the cardio theatre even though there was a terrible movie playing. It is cool and dark and no one could see that I was being a slacker. (I'm basically lazy) In essense, I did a recovery run like I used to do every Monday following a long run for my marathon training. After 35 minutes, I finished and went home.
This is where all that training goes to waste or perhaps I should say to waist. Following our workouts, we went to Bistro 42 with Phyllis Jean to eat very large portions of Italian food.
Tomorrow is again unplanned. But right now, I am thinking that we (Mean Swim Coach and I) will go to the pool early once again BUT I do plan to avoid standing on the scale for a few days. And maybe if I don't forget, I will spend some time to get my workouts planned again and get myself back on track.
Let me know if you have any questions, comments, tips, advice or stories. I would love to hear them.
Have a great evening.
David (aka that chubby guy from Yoga)
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Mean Swim Coach goes National
I don't want to disappoint my reader, although my sister pointed out today that a blog with one reader is really more correctly called an e-mail.... I'm going to ignore her though and proceed.
Today's planned workout was an hour in the gym with weights and about an hour on the bike. And today, I stayed with the plan.
There really is not a lot to say about the weights. I spent an hour lifting weights which I try to do twice a week. Since my primary focus now is triathlon training, all of my weight days are full body workouts with fairly low volume. Today I did 3 chest exercises, 3 back exercises, 3 leg exercises, 2 arm exercises and ab exercises. 3 sets of each. I have been surprised that my upper body strength seems to be increasing. I am guessing that this is due to the swimming. I had the opposite occur when I was doing marathon training.
Likewise the bike today was mainly wanting to get in about an hour on the bike. I stayed close to home, making loops through the neighborhood and finishing a total of a little more than 14 miles.
The nice thing about the weekend all together is that i basically did everything that I will need to do on August 4, for the first time: 3 mile run yesterday morning in the park; 800m continuous swimming in free style yesterday morning; and 14 mile bike this afternoon. Still need to work on putting them all together at once, but I know that I can do them all now.
The other significant thing today is the my Mean Swim Coach (my daughter Virgina) has now gone national. My buddy Andrew who plans to do the triathlon with me, may be consulting with her. I found out today that my nephew Mitchell is also planning to do an Olympic triathlon soon in Texas and he plans on connecting with her to work on training. ALSO, my reader, Dave Leonard is making noises like he may be in for a triathlon and she may be working with him in Indiana. SO, it looks as though she will be working with people in at least 3 states.... so far.
If you have questions or comments, let me know! I would love to hear some of your stories. ALSO, if you have questions for my Mean Swim Coach, I will happily forward them on, as well.
Have a great evening everyone!
David
Today's planned workout was an hour in the gym with weights and about an hour on the bike. And today, I stayed with the plan.
There really is not a lot to say about the weights. I spent an hour lifting weights which I try to do twice a week. Since my primary focus now is triathlon training, all of my weight days are full body workouts with fairly low volume. Today I did 3 chest exercises, 3 back exercises, 3 leg exercises, 2 arm exercises and ab exercises. 3 sets of each. I have been surprised that my upper body strength seems to be increasing. I am guessing that this is due to the swimming. I had the opposite occur when I was doing marathon training.
Likewise the bike today was mainly wanting to get in about an hour on the bike. I stayed close to home, making loops through the neighborhood and finishing a total of a little more than 14 miles.
The nice thing about the weekend all together is that i basically did everything that I will need to do on August 4, for the first time: 3 mile run yesterday morning in the park; 800m continuous swimming in free style yesterday morning; and 14 mile bike this afternoon. Still need to work on putting them all together at once, but I know that I can do them all now.
The other significant thing today is the my Mean Swim Coach (my daughter Virgina) has now gone national. My buddy Andrew who plans to do the triathlon with me, may be consulting with her. I found out today that my nephew Mitchell is also planning to do an Olympic triathlon soon in Texas and he plans on connecting with her to work on training. ALSO, my reader, Dave Leonard is making noises like he may be in for a triathlon and she may be working with him in Indiana. SO, it looks as though she will be working with people in at least 3 states.... so far.
If you have questions or comments, let me know! I would love to hear some of your stories. ALSO, if you have questions for my Mean Swim Coach, I will happily forward them on, as well.
Have a great evening everyone!
David
Red Letter Day
Running a day behind on blogging responsibilities -
Yesterday's planned workouts were 3 mile run and a 2700m swim. Yesterday's actual workouts consisted of a 3 mile run and a 1600m swim.
With the temperature at 105 on Friday and predicted to be over 100 again Saturday, I woke up working on all kinds of reasons why it probably would not be healthy to get out and run. Unfortunately, the temperature was a very comfortable 76 degrees, it was sunny and clear and everything was absolutely beautiful. So, when I could not come up with any reason not to run, I got out of the car at Seneca Park and did a 3 mile loop. And while I was dreading it, I ended up loving it. It was a very comfortable and very enjoyable run.
Later in the morning it was time for my swim and this time, my mean swim coach (my daughter, Ginny) was in town. She and her husband Dan accompanied me to the pool. I had planned on adding another 500m to my distance for the day but my swim coach had other ideas. I did the usual 450m warm-up. THEN rather than doing several sets of 500m free style, for the first time I swam 800m continuously. So, now I know that I can make the swim for the triathlon in 5 weeks. Following that, Ginny made me do 200m with a swim buoy. This is an exercise where you put a buoy between your legs so that you do not kick and instead work only your arms in the stroke. Then we finished out a mile with breast stroke.
At FIRST, I thought that my mean swim coach was going soft on me. I got out of a full 1100m from my planned swim and the total amount of free style for the day was 800m instead of 1500m. I felt great and was feeling cocky for about 2 hours. THEN I needed food in a bad way and immediately following food, I needed a nap. I was basically unconscious for about 2.5 to 3 hours. Luckily, I do not have to swim today and mean swim coach's reputation is safe.
When I was running I couldn't help but worry a little about my distances. The furthest I have run since the KDF marathon 2 months ago is 7.5 miles. Lately, 3 or 4 is about it. Much of this is because I am having to dedicate so much of my effort to gaining endurance on the swim. But once I get the swim up to where it needs to be, I will have to juggle everything around and work on building my endurances for the run and the bike again.
So anyway, this brings me to smack down time for my reader, Dave Leonard. Now that I have conquered the 800m swim, the race is on. I am sending the registration form and saving you a room for August 4!
Today, plans are for weights, biking, laundry, probably another nap.
Have a great day!
David
Yesterday's planned workouts were 3 mile run and a 2700m swim. Yesterday's actual workouts consisted of a 3 mile run and a 1600m swim.
With the temperature at 105 on Friday and predicted to be over 100 again Saturday, I woke up working on all kinds of reasons why it probably would not be healthy to get out and run. Unfortunately, the temperature was a very comfortable 76 degrees, it was sunny and clear and everything was absolutely beautiful. So, when I could not come up with any reason not to run, I got out of the car at Seneca Park and did a 3 mile loop. And while I was dreading it, I ended up loving it. It was a very comfortable and very enjoyable run.
Later in the morning it was time for my swim and this time, my mean swim coach (my daughter, Ginny) was in town. She and her husband Dan accompanied me to the pool. I had planned on adding another 500m to my distance for the day but my swim coach had other ideas. I did the usual 450m warm-up. THEN rather than doing several sets of 500m free style, for the first time I swam 800m continuously. So, now I know that I can make the swim for the triathlon in 5 weeks. Following that, Ginny made me do 200m with a swim buoy. This is an exercise where you put a buoy between your legs so that you do not kick and instead work only your arms in the stroke. Then we finished out a mile with breast stroke.
At FIRST, I thought that my mean swim coach was going soft on me. I got out of a full 1100m from my planned swim and the total amount of free style for the day was 800m instead of 1500m. I felt great and was feeling cocky for about 2 hours. THEN I needed food in a bad way and immediately following food, I needed a nap. I was basically unconscious for about 2.5 to 3 hours. Luckily, I do not have to swim today and mean swim coach's reputation is safe.
When I was running I couldn't help but worry a little about my distances. The furthest I have run since the KDF marathon 2 months ago is 7.5 miles. Lately, 3 or 4 is about it. Much of this is because I am having to dedicate so much of my effort to gaining endurance on the swim. But once I get the swim up to where it needs to be, I will have to juggle everything around and work on building my endurances for the run and the bike again.
So anyway, this brings me to smack down time for my reader, Dave Leonard. Now that I have conquered the 800m swim, the race is on. I am sending the registration form and saving you a room for August 4!
Today, plans are for weights, biking, laundry, probably another nap.
Have a great day!
David
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